Is Macau the new Las Vegas?

by Vitali Shaposhnikov & Linda Schwarz: Where would you place Macau China on a list of the top ten boxing sites in the world? Might holding major world championship bouts there be a viable option for the next foreseeable future? If Bob Arum has anything to say about it, sometime in the near future, he would place it in the number one spot!

What draws boxing fans to Las Vegas? Vegas has an other world, surreal feeling. The bright lights, the crush of the crowds, the huge venues that hold thousands of eager, passionate fans all create an atmosphere of excitement and palpable energy. However, is all of this glitz enough to fend off the quickly rising empire what is fondly known as “the Asian market?”

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Mayhem II: Follow The Money!

Last night I caught some twitter buzz about Floyd “Money” Mayweather Jr. vs. Marcos “El Chino” Maidana II. Specifically, @boxingcrazy78 said,

“The ref for @FloydMayweather vs @ChinoMaidana is Kenny Bayless. I’m telling you now, this is already a different fight hugely in Floyd’s favor”

This is kind of a big deal, since in the last fight Maidana’s strategy was essentially to fight as dirty as possible in order to find a way past Mayweather’s stellar defense. If you don’t recall just how dirty Maidana was, there is a brilliant video on Bad Left Hook that breaks down the dirtiness, frame-by-frame. If you thought “El Chino” looked dirty before, you should seehim in slow motion.

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Five Reasons Why Maidana will be Mayweather’s Toughest Fight for Years

Defying logic, following no formula, and enthralling all that watched; the first fight between Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana was a tribute to the very essence of sport itself.

Whilst the art and skill of any sport can capture the imagination, there is nothing more enchanting than a good underdog story, and so far in the careers of Mayweather and Maidana, this is the biggest for both of them.

Sure, other fighters have come just as close – maybe closer – to defeating Mayweather (Oscar De La Hoya, Jose Luis Castillo) but both were seen as legitimate threats at the time. Maidana had upset the odds before, most notably when he derailed the Victor Ortiz and Adrien Broner hype-trains, but having already lost to some B-level fighters, no one was expecting him to cause the pound-for-pound number one boxer on the planet any problems.
So when Maidana landed the most punches we have ever seen Mayweather hit by, when he won at least a third of the 12 round fight and when he continually put “Money” in bad spots, it simply shocked the world.

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Quigg and Crolla: Manchester’s Finest

This Saturday, Manchester’s ‘Phones 4 U’ Arena (Formerly the MEN), plays host to the return of two of the most likable fighters on the British scene. Both Scott Quigg and Anthony Crolla will once again bask in the famed Manchester support as they attempt to further ignite two careers, which have the potential to really take off.

It would be fair to say that Quigg (28-0-2 21KO’s) has had a strange year to say the least, since announcing himself on the world scene with a destructive performance when halting former world title challenger and everyone’s favourite bin man, Rendall Munroe, in 6. After which, Quigg was handed the WBA Super Bantamweight World Title, when 8st 10lbs ruler Guillermo Rigondeaux was announced ‘Super’ Champion.

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Mayweather -Maidana 2: To box or not to box that is the question?

Floyd Mayweather and Marcos Maidana will meet once again at the MGM Grand Garden Arena this Saturday night live on Showtime PPV. Will Chino’s melee create “Mayhem”, or will it be muscle memory for the money man?

Damn near everyone is convinced that Floyd Mayweather will do a number on Marcos Maidana in the rematch. Isn’t this the same sentiment most fans had prior to the first go round? Maidana was a huge underdog at the sports book, ranging from 12-1 all the way up to 15-1 on a few betting website.

Even though Marcos gave Floyd by far his toughest and roughest fight of his career, barley any one gives him a real chance to get the job done against the future Hall-of-famer.

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Samuel Peter to Face Aubrey in Heavyweight Slugfest

The opponents have been announced for the co-main events on Saturday, September 27, 2014’s, “Rumble on the River” at OKC Downtown Airpark in Oklahoma City, presented by Ivaylo Gotzev and his Epic Sports and Entertainment.

In the night’s eight-round heavyweight “bombs away” co-main event, hard-hitting former WBC Champion Samuel Peter (34-5, 27 KOs) will return for the first time in three years to face former ECHL hockey enforcer turned heavyweight KO artist Ron “The Iceman” Aubrey (12-3, 12 KOs) from Oklahoma City.

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Mayweather vs Maidana Preview

A seasoned 37-year-old champ, Floyd Mayweather Jr, will climb through the ropes at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Saturday night knowing that the last time his champ status was questioned to a point that warranted a rematch (Jose Luis Castillo), he provided clear answers and removed all doubt; that was in 2002. Since then Floyd’s put in some great performances over the years, perhaps not in the most exciting style but in his own, unique style which has kept him undefeated so far, despite not having stopped an opponent since 2011.

Marcos Maidana’s 31 years’ old and is a hungry, aggressive, and exciting fighter with a point to prove in the world of boxing. His style seems to be borne of the school of blood and guts with a ‘let’s fight’ approach. He’s picked up a couple of losses along the way which is no surprise given how he operates in the ring, but he’s also picked up knowledge and experience which is making him better and better at fighting, and he’s already stopped 31 of his opponents and has never been stopped himself.

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Algieri on Pacquiao: My job is to break his will

Chris Algieri is just what boxing needs.

He hs it all! He is a thoroughbred, he is a classy boxer, he’s educated, highly intelligent, well spoken, polite, and professional, with movie star looks.

He and his next opponent, Manny Pacquiao (56-5-2, 38 KOs) are likeable, humble, and respectful of each other. They will clash on November 22nd in Macao, China, on a Top Rank/Star Boxing promoted show, televised live on HBO PPV, in a fight between two WBO World Champions: Algieri (20-0, 8 KOs) is the junior welterweight title holder and he is challenging the Pacman for his welterweight championship.

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Mayweather vs. Maidana: Money on a decision

Rematches may lack some of the drama and anticipation of other fights. They make up for it in predictability.

I’ve spent hours reviewing old fight footage, watching the most recent fights, fights against opponents with similar styles, fights they won, fights they lost…

While you can learn from any of these, none can teach you as much as watching a previous fight against the same opponent. Instead of speculating as to how this boxer will fare against that puncher, or how a three inch reach advantage will win or lose against superior hand speed, you ask one question: What happened last time?

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“The Great Wall” hits the heavyweight scene…HARD

They call Chinese heavyweight Taishan Dong “The Great Wall”, and it’s a nickname well deserved. At 6’11” and over 280 pounds of solid muscle, the 26 year old former kickboxer gives a whole new meaning to the term “super heavyweight”. It’s rare that a boxer with virtually no amateur experience fights on national television in their professional debut; but then again you don’t exactly see NBA center-sized Chinese heavyweights all too often either.

Taishan’s July 18th pro debut was a successful one, scoring a second round TKO over Alex Rozman (2-7 1KO) on a FOX Sports 1 card. Now manager George Gallegos and promoter Golden Boy Promotions are on the hunt for the next opponent. In the meantime, their fighter is soaking up all things boxing like a giant sponge. “He’s thinking about boxing 24 hours a day”, said Gallegos, “Whether it’s punching, footwork, or bag work, he’s going to go home and practice and you’ll see (the improvement) the next day”. The successful lawyer and longtime boxing fan met Taishan completely by random. “He walked into my office to ask a few legal questions”, said Gallegos, “when we were talking I asked him what he did and he said he was a fighter and he wanted to fight here but didn’t know how”. After that original meeting, Gallegos made some calls, got Taishan working in the gym and things took off from there.

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